Bungoma judge Stephen Riech has recused himself from a case in which two petitioners are seeking to have the construction of a dual carriageway stopped.
John Khaoya and Raphael Were had petitioned judge Riech to step aside, saying he was acting in a manner suggesting he had been compromised.
The petitioners further questioned why a matter they had filed under a certificate of urgency had been pushed to October for hearing.
In a letter to Chief Justice David Maraga and copied to Riech, the petitioners further accused the judge of incompetence.
They asked the Chief Justice and the EACC to look into the matter.
Judge Riech said he has stepped aside and sent the case to Kakamega.
He, however, agreed that the court had erred in failing to dispense with a matter that was under certificate of urgency.
"I agree that we erred in delaying a case that was under a certificate of urgency for months. It was because I was absent and the court officials failed," Riech said.
He said that court officials, even in his absence, were supposed to come up with a closer date and place the matter with urgency before a duty judge.
“It is common practice that when a matter is under a certificate of urgency, it should be dispensed as soon as possible and our court officials erred on this," he said.
Riech, however, told the petitioners to respect court officers, saying regardless of whether he handled the case or not, it will only go through on merit.
“Let's trust our courts. Cases are won on merit and the law, and it doesn’t matter which judge handles the matter," Riech said.
He added that it was important that people respect each other instead of making grave allegations against court officials.
The matter will be mentioned on Thursday next week before Kakamega judge William Musyoka
